Comments on: UK Tories mishandle EU relationshiphttp://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/2014/01/23/uk-tories-mishandle-eu-relationship/
Mon, 09 Feb 2015 16:46:27 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.3By: Skydiver12http://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/2014/01/23/uk-tories-mishandle-eu-relationship/comment-page-1/#comment-735
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 02:32:40 +0000http://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/?p=718#comment-735Cameron is yet to feel the full price of his migrant workers bashing campaign. Eastern EU countries are very sensitive to the “secondhand europeans” treatment.
He didn’t engage the individual governments of other EU countries properly during the budget deal talks and from now on resistance to his suggestions, even the reasonable ones, will only increase.
]]>By: Bob9999http://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/2014/01/23/uk-tories-mishandle-eu-relationship/comment-page-1/#comment-734
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 23:15:06 +0000http://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/?p=718#comment-734As an American, it doesn’t really matter to me whether Britain stays in the EU or leaves it. But, as an American, given the choice between Britain and the EU, I’d certainly feel compelled to side with Britain. So my bias is that the end result of the euroscepticism debate should be whatever is truly in the best interests of Britain, whatever that is.

This piece makes the mistake, it seems to me, of assuming that the necessary result of any EU reform is for Britain to stay in, with a lot of angst expressed that Cameron should be careful not to do anything that put that in jeopardy.

But it’s not an honest reevaluation of Britain’s EU membership if only acceptable result is for Britain to stay in. And Britain certainly loses all of its bargaining power with the rest of the EU if the only acceptable result is for Britain to stay in.

Finally, Great Britain is ten times better than Continental Europe. The only people who fail to appreciate this is the British, given their development of self-loathing to a state a high art over the last 70 years. Look at the influence of Great Britain — today, not over the course of the last 1.5 millenia — and compare that to other countries, weighted on a per capita basis. And for those who bemoan the loss of the Empire, look at the City of London, where the financial business of empire continues to be done — and without the need for a small island to maintain a global military presence.

]]>By: TimHedgeshttp://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/2014/01/23/uk-tories-mishandle-eu-relationship/comment-page-1/#comment-733
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 18:16:08 +0000http://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/?p=718#comment-733The single market is a mass of regulations which costs jobs. It doesn’t apply largely to services, which is where we are strongest, because the Germans say no. The regulations apply even to companies which don’t trade with Europe. The working time directive penalises Britain. There are so many damaging parts to EU membership and so little chance of changing them, it would be easier to leave quietly now and watch them go downhill. There is no future for the EU. There is a future for Britain outside it.
]]>